Tough choice for sure. But actually, two very different sweet spots for usage. The Note will be the best for productivity, and versatility. Obviously battery life will be better than the DNA. The S Pen and Touchwiz add a lot more capability than Sense. If you want a device to organize your life, be almost a personal assistant, the Note is probably the better choice.

The DNA is a media powerhouse. The screen is fantastic. The built in amplifiers mean audio is clear and crisp while plenty loud. Obviously it's much more portable than the Note, and can still be used one-handed. Radios get excellent signal, so you won't be frustrated by dropped calls or slow data speeds if you live in weak coverage areas.

Ask yourself what you want out of your phone, and see which of the two better fits that.

I have never used a touchwiz phone and not a sense phone since the original Incredible. I am not familiar with either. Which OS is more polished and less intrusive? I assume with a quad core processor, either OS skin is not heavy enough to weigh down the navigating speeds.

I had a hard time choosing between these two as well as my last phone was the S3 but I wanted something a bit larger. The Note 2 is a bit too big to be a phone for my liking. I finally decided on the DNA and I will list my reasons with backing rather than just a quick answer on what I THINK is the best phone. I went to the Verizon store this morning and grabbed a brand new Note 2 for comparison. First would be the display. The DNA's Super LCD 3 at 440ppi is so much nicer than the Note's SAMOLED at only 267ppi. The difference in the sharpness and clarity of photos, videos and even text on the DNA is huge. Then there is the processor. The S4 pro easily beats out the Exynos in the Quadrant and benchmarks as seen in my pics below. My DNA scored an 8127 in Quadrant and a 21223 in Antutu compared to the Note's 6184 and 17580.

My next reason for choosing the DNA over the Note 2 is build quality. Although being better build quality, the DNA is still a good bit lighter than the Note and its size is more like a big phone rather than a small tablet. I am not a fan of the Note's (or my S3s) physical home button. There is no reason for it, make it capacitive. Another pro for me is the great camera and features of the DNA. Not only can you edit the pic with about 20 built in effects that enhance the photo, you can also then change the white balance, levels, exposure, contrast etc...these are features most cameras dont even have and you need to drag the pic into an editor to get. HTC did a wonderful job here and although the Samsung cameras are good, the quality plus the features on the DNA are just above and beyond anything on the Note.

Another big plus for me was the way Sense integrates social media and your contacts. Go into a contact on the Note and you have the standard things. You can call, text, email, add to a group and such. However, go into a contact on the DNA and aside from all of the usual interactions, you can also start a chat with Google Talk and view their Facebook and Twitter profile that shows their latest post. Then you can click "thread" and it will bring up all of your messages, emails and call history with them. Slide over to the "updates" tab and you can see all of their recent Facebook and Twitter updates including photos and then finally you can click the "gallery" tab and see all of their Facebook photo albums. Again, this is just from their contact page! Outstanding social media integration unmatched by Samsung or TouchWiz. This is far more useful to me than a pen to doodle around with.

In the end the fantastic display, superior processor, build quality and Sense's ability to integrate amazingly well with social media and be highly customizable with different scenes and skins led me to choose the DNA over the Note. There are things I like about the Note 2 as well. Excellent battery life, removable battery and storage, multi window and I like the phone part of it and how it manages your recent calls and dialer better. Much less clutter going on. I dont really need all the storage as I have an iPod Touch with all my music and I am not one to watch HD movies on anything less than my huge TV in my room But its something to consider if your life revolves around your phone and you have to do everything on it. Hope this helps with others you are on the fence, both are great devices and you really cant go wrong with either.

I've seen a couple comments on the Note having better battery. Really? I can go a day and a half on my DNA. I don't know bout the other folks but that's good enough for me.

BC

Click to expand...

Do you ever use it? I just got it yesterday and after its first full charge, I was down to about 35% after 4 hours off the charger. Now granted, I was downloading a ton of apps and setting up the phone, so it was nearly 3 hours of screen on time but still. Charged it full again overnight and I am at 67% only 4h 46min off the charger. All I have done is browse the web, take some pics, a few emails and downloaded a few more apps. I am not too thrilled with the battery at all but I work from home and have a car charger too, so I am not worried. No idea how you are getting over a day haha.

I've seen a couple comments on the Note having better battery. Really? I can go a day and a half on my DNA. I don't know bout the other folks but that's good enough for me.

BC

Click to expand...

The Note 2 has a 3100 MAH battery, I've had friends go 2-3 days without charging. Plus, the battery is also removable; that can make quite a difference for someone deciding between the two.

I was in the same situation you were OP, I couldn't decide at all. After thinking for quite a while and holding both phones, I've decided to go with the Note 2. Touchwiz is much less intrusive than Sense, plus the removable battery and SD card slot pushed me over the edge.

Do you ever use it? I just got it yesterday and after its first full charge, I was down to about 35% after 4 hours off the charger. Now granted, I was downloading a ton of apps and setting up the phone, so it was nearly 3 hours of screen on time but still. Charged it full again overnight and I am at 67% only 4h 46min off the charger. All I have done is browse the web, take some pics, a few emails and downloaded a few more apps. I am not too thrilled with the battery at all but I work from home and have a car charger too, so I am not worried. No idea how you are getting over a day haha.

Click to expand...

I use my phone quite extensively.

My Rezound would need charged about three times a day. So for me that's a huge improvement.

I am also in the market for a new phone, my One X is all paid for now and the Note 2 was really tempting but I just can't stand touchwiz, it makes android look awful and that was a deal breaker for me.. also think the form factor and build quality is not great.

I am holding out until feb when HTC usually make their announcement of what phones are coming out, hoping the rumours of the HTC Deluxe (our possible version of the butterfly/DNA) are true as the DNA looks like a fantastic phone from what I've seen of it.

To the OP, Sense is not a heavy UI.. it does exactly what you need it to by giving you integration when you need it. I think 211275's post is a fantastic explanation of the reasons for getting the DNA... just wish I could!

I am also in the market for a new phone, my One X is all paid for now and the Note 2 was really tempting but I just can't stand touchwiz, it makes android look awful and that was a deal breaker for me.. also think the form factor and build quality is not great.

I am holding out until feb when HTC usually make their announcement of what phones are coming out, hoping the rumours of the HTC Deluxe (our possible version of the butterfly/DNA) are true as the DNA looks like a fantastic phone from what I've seen of it.

To the OP, Sense is not a heavy UI.. it does exactly what you need it to by giving you integration when you need it. I think 211275's post is a fantastic explanation of the reasons for getting the DNA... just wish I could!

Click to expand...

I went into a T mobile store and looked at the Note 2 before buying the DNA. The only reason was because of storage differences. I think I could deal with the size but it just seems so cheap. Maybe it's because I've always had HTC's.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 destroys the DNA in everything except for the screen. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2's score of 10/10 in Performance is excellent and I've tested it myself and everything was buttery smooth. The UI has no lag whatsoever, web browsing is smooth and there are no bugs.

The software on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is also great and the camera is excellent, probably one of the best I've seen on a smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 scored 9/10 for battery life which is one of the best I've seen on a Verge review.

Now onto the DNA...

The performance of the DNA is quite disappointing at only 7/10. You would have hoped HTC to do better but they always lag behind in terms of performance, lag and bugs.

The battery life is terrible on the DNA. 4/10 for battery life... that's like the first time I've seen a 4/10 for battery life in a Verge review.

The battery life is terrible on the DNA. 4/10 for battery life... that's like the first time I've seen a 4/10 for battery life in a Verge review.

That's literally a fail.

Click to expand...

That review is what is literally a fail. The battery life was actually longer than the S3 in their test, but they gave it half the score of the S3? And nearly to a man, everyone has been very happy with the battery life. My heaviest day, it lasted 10 hours, and that was on a weak 4G signal and 4 hours of screen on time. Today it was at 54% after 9 hours... Again on 4G. The battery may be only 2020, but it's extremely efficient, it lasts twice as long as my 2100 GNex did.

The only reliable comparison is via a scripted, identical battery testing regime. In that regime, the GS3 and DNA were nearly identical (with the DNA edging by 13 minutes). All other comparisons are strictly subjective, and not scientific.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 destroys the DNA in everything except for the screen.

Click to expand...

Considering my post (#6 in here) showing the DNA easily scoring higher in both Quadrant and Antutu, I would say this claim is false. The DNA has the superior processor as well as the better display. So the DNA is better in arguably the two most important things in a phone, display and processor. The Note 2 easily wins in battery but the DNA has the better build quality. The rest like UI, reception, data speeds etc...are all either subjective or vary based on location.

OK - I ues my S3 as an alarm clock @ home - and a desk clock @ work (about the extent of it's functionality in the "dead zone"). Now (DUH) I'm starting to notice screen burn-in. Of the N2 and the DNA, does anyone know which would be less susceptible to burn in?